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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. pop — to visit
  3. tear — from crying
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. rest — what's left
  6. pop — soda
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. pop — music
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. rest — a break
  12. lean — to bend
  13. stock — shares
  14. tear — from crying
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. wax — to grow
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. bark — to shout
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. stock — goods
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. tear — to rip
  23. lean — thin
  24. rest — what's left

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com